Dear Praying Friends,

On Sunday night, Jaime (his real name) and another youth group student were involved in a tragic accident. Both were attempting to cross the street near Jaime's house when a taxi apparently ran a red light and fatally struck Jaime. The other student was physically unharmed, but witnessed the death of his best friend and is overwhelmed with grief. He's not alone. 
 

Our youth team, our students, and our family loved Jaime dearly. Jaime was one of our most committed youth group students. This semester he arrived hours before youth group began each week. United Church's youth group was where he felt he belonged. Despite coming to us identifying as non-religious about a year ago, it seems to us that God had been moving in his heart lately.  

Andrew Baxley, our new teammate and youth pastor, will preach one of the hardest sermons a pastor will ever preach on Thursday at the memorial service. Andrew and his wife, Kelly, will spend the holidays grieving with students and pointing them, at such a spiritually tender moment, to the God who sent his Son on a mission to destroy death itself. 

This is the reason we're asking you to pray. We're all incredibly sad, and yet we and the people we serve - our students, their classmates, and families - need to encounter the hope of Jesus. Will you please pray for us, and especially our youth ministry team? Will you please pray for Jaime's friends and family? Will you please pray for God's Spirit to save the lost and encourage his people? 

Gratefully,
Andrew and Laura Kate